FotoMonkey – Page 3 – Fotomonkey Photography

Nov 24

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: b&w, beach, pier, surfing

Surf’s Up

Black Friday. What do you do when you don’t care about binge shopping? Well, it seems that a number of people headed to the beach. It turns out that the washing machine from earlier in the week had turned into a nice, clean swell. I didn’t spend more than maybe 30 minutes out today, but it felt like a good session. Taking pictures, not surfing. 🙂 I’ve really been on the black & white bent lately. I’m shooting the same film in the Yashica 35GX as the film simulation I’m shooting in the Fujifilm…Ilford HP5 Plus 400. I can’t wait to develop the film and see how the two compare in real life. Anyway, here’re the results of the days’ shooting. I kinda dig these quick trips. Not a lot of work afterwards.

Nov 21

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: b&w, xt30ii

Ahead of the Holiday

I’m sort of off this week. I say sort of because I’ve worked so far and will be working Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday despite technically being on vacation. In an effort to keep my mind focused where it needs to be (relaxing) I headed downtown today for some street photography. My goal was framing…using the surroundings to naturally frame the subject. I’ll admit that I struggled. I took my 25/f2 and most of my shooting was across the street which was too far away. I think my success rate would’ve been higher with the zoom. Oh well, that’s why I do these exercises. This is the best shot out of the target series. We have a park downtown which I’ve visited several times for one particular shot. Unfortunately, it’s never materialized until today. I don’t know if it’s quite what I had in my head but I’m happy with how it came out. As I was walking back to my car I had one final opportunity. This woman was probably on her way back to the office after her lunch break. I tried to be inconspicuous. I don’t think it worked. 🙂

Nov 18

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: florida

Starke, Florida

Starke is yet another small town in Florida that I’ve driven through for years but never stopped. It was never a destination, just a spot along the way. It was the mid-point between two even smaller towns which once reigned supreme as Florida’s most well known speed traps, Lawtey and Waldo. I’ve made many trips down US301 to Gainesville, which is probably most peoples’ destination if they’re traveling this way. However, unless you’re planning on stopping, most driver’s likely take new wonderful new bypass and miss the town altogether. On this Saturday afternoon, I decided to drive down and see what I’ve been missing all these years. As it turns out, not much. There isn’t much to see in this town of around 5000. It does stake claim to being home to Florida’s oldest weekly newspaper, The Bradford County Telegraph, which began publication in 1879. It is also the county seat for Bradford County. Aside from that, I found one street which really held any promise. It seems like most of the activity revolves around Call Street. Now it does make sense. After all, Call Street is actually a National historic district. Although the street is relatively short, there is […]

Nov 04

by FotoMonkey in photowalk 0 comments tags: florida, mural, palatka, xt30ii

Palatka, Florida

In my continuing quest to seek out new places that I haven’t explored around my home turf, I traveled to Palatka, Florida yesterday. It’s actually got a pretty interesting history so I’d encourage you to read the link. I’ve been through Palatka countless times but I’ve never really stopped to see what the town has to offer. With a population around the 10,000 mark, it’s considerable larger than where I grew up but it still has a familiar feel. I parked at one end of the historic downtown area and walked about 20 blocks. I was surprised that despite it being a weekend with the holidays right around the corner, very little was open. There are plenty of shops which should’ve been busy but most of downtown was closed up. My main target was a large number of murals representing the community’s history. They were very well done. Something that impressed me is the kindness of the people I crossed paths with. Many times I found myself shooting across the street to get the entire mural in the frame. On more than one occasion, driver’s would stop and wait for me to finish rather than driving through my shot. At […]

Oct 29

by FotoMonkey in gear 0 comments tags: fuji, telephoto, x-h1

A Day at the Zoo

Ok, so today is the last day with the 150-600. I figured I’d slow things down a little and go from high-speed jets to mostly stationary animals and headed out to the zoo. Historically, we’ve had a very good zoo with some outstanding exhibits. This trip left a little to be desired with numerous animals off exhibit. I ended up spending four hours, though. Of course, part of that was returning to some of the animals more than once to see if they’d become more lively. Let me say that carrying this lens around for so long will do a number on your back. I’ve always had an interest in birds. Whether we’re talking about a large bird like this green-winged macaw or something smaller like an African grey or even a conure, I think they’re intelligent and interesting creatures. I don’t think I’m at the point in life that I’d commit to a 70-year pet so I’ll remain content to just taking their pictures. As I continued my journey through the Emerald Forest Aviary I couldn’t help but stop and snap a picture of this spoonbill. There were quite a few of them chilling out near the water but […]

Sep 15

by FotoMonkey in travel 0 comments

Mercutio – The End

We woke up early. Most of us had a relatively early flight to catch. We headed to breakfast and fueled up before heading to the airport. Joey and Gary had the afternoon flight so the three of us loaded up in the hotel shuttle for the 3-minute ride to the airport. Normally I guess it’s 5 minutes but we must’ve missed rush hour. 🙂 We had to wait for security to open so the seating area in the lobby filled up. Eventually the security area was opened and everyone just shuffled from one area to the next. I think this is probably the smallest airport I’ve ever flow through that wasn’t a commuter airport. We had an uneventful flight into Minneapolis except for a little turbulence as we neared the airport. All of us were heading to different gates and didn’t have long to catch our connecting flights. Jerry, Edward and I said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I was very glad to have a direct flight home. The week was pretty epic. As with all good things, they must come to an end. I’m very glad I was able to reconnect with the guys and had the […]

Sep 14

by FotoMonkey in travel 0 comments

Mercutio – Flying Out

We awoke this morning at 7:30. There was still some packing of odds and ends to do. We needed to clean the cabin to get it ready to close up for the season. The freezers and refrigerators needed to be emptied. A lot of final preps before the float planes arrived at 9:30. We all pretty much skipped breakfast in favor of knocking out the last bits of work. Thanks to Gary the coffee kept us going. Everything came together nicely, though, and our gear was on the dock and ready to go when the planes arrived right on time. Edward, Jerry and I took the first plane back. It was another beautiful day for flying. Jim picked us up and did a great job. It’s easy to see why they call Minnesota the land of 10,000 lakes. So, I won’t go into details, but I’ll post it for the guys. Now here’s where things skipped a beat. Somehow, our ride had us down for returning the next day. Rather than being there at 10am to take us back to the US, they were nowhere to be found. Keep in mind that we’re two hours from where we need to […]

Sep 13

by FotoMonkey in travel 0 comments

Mercutio – Day 6

The cabin was cold again this morning. I was sure I had the stove going fine when we turned it, but the wood barely looked charred. I woke up in the middle of the night to put my longjohns back on. Looking out the windows was interesting. The lake was gone. We were completely socked in by fog. It made for a pretty cool morning, though. It took several hours to burn off. The water (what we could see) was like glass. I love black and white photography and felt that the fog really lent itself to it. I loaded up my B&W film recipe and went to town. I think you open up a new world when you take the color away. The fog did eventually burn off and it turned out to be a gorgeous day. It was our last day at the lake before flying back to civilization and we were all itching to get on the water. The chill burned off as well and we didn’t have to bundle up too much. The lake was looking particularly lovely on this day and the colors were alive. We pretty much stayed together on this last day. Unfortunately, […]

Sep 12

by FotoMonkey in travel 0 comments

Mercutio – Day 5

We woke up to another cold morning. The wood stove died down overnight so there was a chill in the cabin. I got it going again and the warmth is starting to radiate. Sitting at the table, enjoying some coffee and more conversation, we looked out the window to find a bald eagle riding the wind right outside the cabin. The wind is still steady out of the west putting a nice “walleye chop” on the lake. After breakfast I think we’re going to brave the cold and head out to the bass spot. We’re all itching to catch some bass but are also looking forward to more walleye. It proved to be a mostly cold day on the water. I was definitely glad that I kept my down puff jacket on. This fishing wasn’t quite spectacular but we did manage enough for dinner.

Sep 11

by FotoMonkey in travel 0 comments

Mercutio – Day 4

Another day is upon us. The deck is wet so it must’ve rained overnight but I slept right through it. It’s brought in a deeper chill and the temperature is in the low 40s. It’s damp and the air is heavy. The mist can be felt and the cloud ceiling is low. Today is September 11. 9/11. Spent a little time in the solitude thinking back to that day so many years ago. Breakfast appeared in the form of eggs, sausage, and English muffins. It was small but hearty and set the stage for the rest of the day. The drone of a float plane could be heard in the distance. The noise grew louder as the bright yellow Cessna crested the tree tops and settled down on lake. The pontoons cut through the chop as the young pilot pointed its nose to the dock. The arrival of more ice, minnows, and food supplies was welcome. The pilot also got our water heater working. We’re all looking forward to a hot shower after several days. Morning turned into afternoon and the weather still looks iffy at best. The mist eventually morphed into a steady rain and it looks like this […]